Arundel policeman kills rival, himself

Officer's wife, children escape unharmed after woman's boyfriend is shot

An evening of Halloween merriment ended in bloodshed Friday when an Anne Arundel County police officer shot and killed his estranged wife's boyfriend at the family's Millersville home and then fatally shot himself.

Police said Officer David Keith Frendlich, 35, a 10-year patrol veteran, surprised his wife, Lisa, at the home he shared with her and their two sons about 9:45 p.m. Friday.

According to police and witness accounts, Frendlich left a hiding place in the basement and appeared in the kitchen, his service revolver in hand, as the adults and children prepared to depart for a late dinner. Police said Frendlich said nothing before shooting Ronald Larry Boliek, 35, of Odenton several times in the upper body.

Boliek's daughter, Kimberly Ann Boliek, 8, and Frendlich's sons, ages 6 and 5, witnessed the attack, according to Boliek family members. They fled the house with Lisa Frendlich after the assault and were not present when David Frendlich shot himself in the head in the family room, police said.

Boliek, an electrician with TESCO of Severn, was dead when police arrived. Frendlich was pronounced dead at North Arundel Hospital.

Neither Lisa Frendlich, 34, nor the three children was injured.

Police said Frendlich and his wife had been having an "ongoing domestic dispute," which Boliek's relatives say came to a head in a confrontation at Boliek's home the day before the shooting.

"It's an unfortunate incident," said police Lt. Randall Jones, acting commander of the criminal investigation division. "Two tragedies occurred - not just a police officer, but another individual. Our sympathies go out to both families."

According to police and Boliek's relatives, Lisa and David Frendlich had been estranged for some time, although they continued to share a house. Lisa Frendlich and Boliek had been dating for about a year and she had lived with him at one point, according to Ronald's brother, Richard L. Boliek Jr., 38, of Odenton.

Richard Boliek said the police officer had made verbal threats and had been "stalking" Ronald Boliek for months, at one point entering his house and taking photos of himself sitting on Boliek's bed.

The brother said Ronald Boliek had filed a complaint against David Frendlich with the Anne Arundel County Police Department within the past six months, but the family never learned what had come of it.

Jones, the Anne Arundel police spokesman, said that he could not confirm whether a complaint had been filed. He said that Frendlich was in good standing at the time of the shooting.

Boliek family members feared that a standoff between the two men could lead to violence, said Richard Boliek, who called his brother a "a guy's guy" who loved NASCAR and coaching Little League.

On Thursday, Richard Boliek said, his brother and Lisa Frendlich were together at Boliek's house when David Frendlich surprised them by showing up with the couple's sons. He said his brother told him that David Frendlich had harsh words with his wife and left the children with her.

The shootings took place after a night of holiday fun, neighbors said yesterday. Earlier that evening, Lisa Frendlich - head coach of the Ferndale-based Maryland Rockets All-Stars cheerleading team - had helped put together a children's Halloween party in the brick clubhouse of her Daniels Purchase subdivision.

Trick-or-treating followed the party, then many of the neighborhood's adults went to a party of their own, several doors down from the Frendlichs' home in the 8200 block of Daniels Purchase Way.